Timchenko is one of three individuals with allegedly close links to Russian President Vlaidmir Putin hit by the sanctions, announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 

Sanctions have also been levied against Boris Rotenberg, a sponsor of auto racing teams under the brand SMP Racing, who was also involved in construction projects for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi.

The third individual sanctioned is Igor Rotenberg, who co-owns the SGM Group, a construction firm specialising in creating oil and gas transportation systems, alongside uncle Boris Rotenberg.

Timchenko chairs a KHL Board of Directors that includes the organisation’s President Alexei Morozov, while Timchenko is also chair of SKA Saint Petersburg, one of the league's best teams.

The 69-year-old is the founded and owns the private investment group, Volga Group, which specialises in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets.

According to Forbes, he is worth $19.6 billion (£14.4 billion/€17.2 billion). 

Boris Rotenberg, whose worth is estimated at $1 billion (£735 million/€882 million), is a former judo training partner of Putin and is now the vice-president of the Russian Judo Federation. 

Speaking in the UK Parliament about the sanctions against the three individuals, Johnson said: "Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here and we will prohibit all UK individuals and entities from having any dealings with them."

Rotenberg and his brother, along with Timchenko, had previously been black-listed by the United States after Russia had annexed Crimea.

Sanctions have also been imposed against five Russian banks - Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.

Johnson added: "This the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed."

The sanctions come Russia send troops into eastern Ukraine, with Putin announcing Russia would recognise the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

Elsewhere today, Germany has halted the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which could have doubled the amount of gas flowing from Russia to Germany if it had been completed.

The European Union (EU) has published its sanctions proposal against Russia, with plans to target anyone involved in the decision to approve military action in Ukraine, such as members of the Russian Parliament or banks that are financing Russian military operations, and would stop the ability of the Russian Government to access the EU’s financial markets and services.

Members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, which features Defence Ministers from 10 countries, described Russia’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states as "an unjustified act."